Exodus 20:4

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God addresses the assembly of Israel at Sinai, delivering the second commandment immediately after the first (v. 3) and before the prohibition on bowing and worship (v. 5).

The words — פֶּסֶל (pēsel) is the head noun: a carved image or statue, a concrete manufactured object, paired with תֵּמוּנָה (tēmûnâ), "form" or "likeness," to specify not just any object but one shaped to resemble something.

The thread — Deuteronomy 5:8 repeats the command verbatim; Leviticus 26:1 extends the prohibition to carved images, sacred pillars, and sculpted stones; Deuteronomy 4:15 grounds it in the fact that no form was seen at Horeb.

Why it lands — The command targets the act of making, not the act of worship; it stops the hand before the knee bends.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

לֹֽ֣אlo'not תַֽעֲשֶׂ֨ה־ta.'a.Seh-you must makeלְךָ֥֣le./Khafor <the>/ yourselfפֶ֣֙סֶל֙׀fe.selan image וְכָל־ve./kholand/ any תְּמוּנָ֡֔הte.mu.Nahform אֲשֶׁ֤ר֣'a.Sherwhich בַּשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙׀ba./sha.Ma.yim[is] in the/ heavens מִמַּ֡֔עַלmi./Ma.'al<from>/ above וַֽאֲשֶׁ֥ר֩va./'a.Sherand/ which בָּאָ֖֨רֶץba./'A.retz[is] on the/ earth מִתַָּ֑֜חַתmi./Ta.chat<from>/ beneath וַאֲשֶׁ֥֣רva./'a.Sherand/ which בַּמַּ֖֣יִם׀ba./Ma.yim[is] in the/ waters מִתַּ֥֣חַתmi./Ta.chatfrom/ under לָאָֽ֗רֶץ׃la./'A.retzto the/ earth

King James Version

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 5:8 You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.
Leviticus 26:1 “You must not make idols for yourselves or set up a carved image or sacred pillar; you must not place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down to it. For I am the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 4:15 So since you saw no form of any kind on the day the LORD spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb, be careful
Psalms 97:7 All worshipers of images are put to shame—those who boast in idols. Worship Him, all you gods!
Leviticus 19:4 Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods. I am the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 27:15 ‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved idol or molten image—an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of a craftsman—and sets it up in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
Acts 17:29 Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.
Revelation 16:2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and loathsome, malignant sores broke out on those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
Psalms 115:4 Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
Jeremiah 10:14 Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.